


Distance

by RueWasHere



Category: Hustle Cat
Genre: F/F, F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 08:14:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6558967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RueWasHere/pseuds/RueWasHere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You've just started at A Cat's Paw. Things are going pretty well until you realize you have feelings for your coworker Landry. That's just when he starts to avoid you! What could be going through his head?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Distance

**Author's Note:**

> This one is a bit longer than Reese's, let's hope it's just as good. I really love Landry so I hope I did him some justice.

Clack, Clack, Clack. The saucer with a fresh and fully filled coffee mug that you held in your hands continued to shake and shiver as you struggled to get it to your table. The little kitty face that Hayes had made on the latte’s surface was slowly being ruined by the saucer’s constant jostling. You’d only just recently started at a cute little cafe known as A Cat’s Paw. A good friend of yours had recommended the job, saying that it would be an easy way to make money. That friend couldn’t have been more wrong! This was only your second day and you had already broken a plate and two cups. There was nothing easy about any of this. 

Crash! Okay, make that three cups. Even though there were only two customers in the restaurant, you could still feel their eyes suddenly gravitate towards you. Your face became very hot very, very quickly. This whole waiting tables thing was far more difficult than you could have ever imagined. You were sure that you would have been fired by now.Before you could really register what had just happened, you could feel your feet very gently leave the floor below you. It wasn’t really a noticeable height, only an inch or so really. Of course your magic had to start working now of all times. That’s right, you were also a witch. Your friend had also mentioned something about this cafe being a safe space for magic users around the area. They were right for at least once in their life.This new boss of yours had sworn not to let your secret slip, and thus you had job security. Although his appearance was pretty out of the ordinary, you felt as if you could actually trust him.You had to focus hard up until you could feel your shoes connect with the floor again. A gentle sigh escaped your lips, that was a close one. 

Your table was still staring at you until you reached down to pick up the glass shards left over from the mug. As you gripped a piece you felt a hand reach over yours. Landry knelt next to you and offered a sweet smile as he motioned for you to drop the shard of glass. “We can get a broom for that, why don’t you head upstairs and have Hayes get your table their coffee again?” Suddenly you felt very, very small. Your face reddened even more. Even though you knew Landry wouldn’t really be angry or upset, you still felt extremely self conscious around him. He made everything he did at work look so easy, and he did everything with a smile to boot. You could even go as far as to say you looked up to him as a waiter. Disappointing him by breaking yet another mug wasn’t really on your agenda today. 

You nodded quickly as you muttered an apology and made your way for the stairs. You almost missed the first step because of your magic making you float up in the air yet again, a little higher than you had been before. By the time you reached the top of the stairs your heart felt as if it was going to leap through your chest. You already had a strong feeling that this was going to be a very long day. 

Of course, you were right about the last few hours of your shift being nothing less than tedious. It was one of those days where you wished that you had never even gotten out of bed that morning. Since about three in the afternoon Reese had taken to calling you ‘Crash’. It was difficult for you to keep both of your feet planted on the tiled floor now that both he and Finely were snickering. At the very least the broom you had in your hand was a good enough makeshift anchor. You mumbled quietly to yourself as you continued to sweep underneath the chairs. At least this was one job where you couldn't break or drop anything of value. The thought of maybe beating Reese over the head with your broom would made you feel better. You smiled in a wicked manner as the thought crossed your mind, so you settled for at least poking their feet beneath the tables with the broom’s bristles. Maybe this job wouldn’t be all that bad. 

\--

It had been another two weeks or so now that you’d been working at A Cat’s Paw. Things were thankfully rolling over pretty smoothly for once. A new employee had come in just the other day, Their name was Avery Grey. They happened upon the place by total accident, thankfully for you they weren’t so bad to work with. They were just about as experienced as you were at this whole restaurant thing. It was kind of reassuring to not be the only one having trouble with balancing things and serving tables. Even though your nickname was still Crash, at least you weren’t the new kid anymore.

Today was a day off that everyone had agreed on spending at work. You were all planning on giving Avery a warmer welcome than they’d had on the first day. It must have been hard on them after learning about the cat curse all at once. By now the cat curse had run its course with you too, each time you left the cafe you turned into a rather fluffy looking Somali cat. When you first heard about the curse itself, it wasn’t all that big of a shock. Magic was like a second nature to you by now, so slipping into the groove of things wasn’t difficult. In fact, being a cat was almost enjoyable, it offered a sort of safe haven from the hustle and bustle of being human. However, watching poor Avery’s reaction to learning everyone’s secret was rather priceless. Graves had mentioned that some of the other employees may not have had the best run ins with magic either. You took that as a hint and didn’t spill the beans about what other sorts of magic you could use. You were sure the others all had their own reasons for being their secrets to themselves, so you kept yours. 

This was like any normal day. Mason had come in at a ridiculous hour of the morning so she could make the team breakfast. Everyone was present, even your good old boss Graves. As you all ate you couldn’t help but notice, Landry had moved his chair to the opposite side of the table. It was odd, but you could have sworn that he had been avoiding you since you’d dropped your third mug the other day. Maybe he really was embarrassed about being next to you? It was possible that he just didn’t see you as a very skilled coworker. Or he could just be trying to not let your so called ‘bad luck’ rub off on him.Your eggs didn’t really taste all that good anymore. The idea of Landry avoiding you made your stomach turn and twist in an odd way. You couldn’t really lie. You’d really come to like him in these past two weeks, more so than you’d like to admit. As you placed your fork down you looked around the rest of the table. None of the others seemed to notice or comment on Landry’s new seating arrangement. 

It was possible you were only overthinking the situation.Once the meal had ended everyone had broken off to go do their own miscellaneous jobs . Graves disappeared to who knows where, Hayes and Mason worked in the kitchen to clean up, Finley went upstairs to work on her laptop, finally Reese and Avery went to entertain the cats. That left only you and Landry to set the tables back up. You had seriously hoped that all of your worries were really only in your imagination. You couldn't really doubt yourself now, your hands were already gripping the table’s edge as you struggled to maneuver it safely. As you continued to struggle to move it back into its original position, it began to wobble vigorously. One of the legs had been broken causing the table to go through some ‘turbulence’ as it was set down.. Landry almost immediately took notice and offered you a smile, although his dark brown eyes never met yours.

“Oh hey, why don’t I take care of that while we have the chance? I’ll head down towards the basement and grab some tools. You can move some of the other tables back to where they go, I’ll be right back.” With that he disappeared towards the kitchen. That was it, he was definitely avoiding you. Even though you were sure there was some sort of logical explanation you couldn’t help but follow him down towards the basement. If there really was something wrong then he could talk to you privately down there. Mason and Hayes paid you no mind as you slipped through the doorway and shut it behind you. From the darkness down below you couldn’t really make out much, you pulled a string to turn on a nearby light. You peered down the stairway, from up here you weren’t able to see all that much. 

“Landry, Hey, can I talk with you?” You called as you made your way down the creaky old steps. There was a rather loud sound as a hammer hit the floor, Landry turns around from facing a nearby shelf. It looks like you startled him pretty well, the color flushes from his face and he steps backward, putting his hands up in defense.

“Oh, ____ what do you need? I hope I wasn’t taking that long.” A light smile pulled at his lips as he looked you up and down. You quirked an eyebrow as you retrieve his hammer from the floor and placed it in his hand.

“Well no, you’re fine. I just wanted to talk to you is all.” You tried to keep your voice level, but being this close to him only now made you realize just how tall he is. Your heartbeat quickened considerably at the thought of it. You remember Finely once talking about just how cute she thought height differences in couples was. Dragging your gaze upward you met his gaze. “I just feel like you’ve been avoiding me lately, that’s all. If I did something wrong, you would tell me wouldn’t you?”

He freezes up, he looks away and clutches the hammer that he has in hand tightly. You’d never really seen him behave this way before. He was usually so cheerful and smooth about things.It was pretty weird to see the way he pressed his lips into a thin line as if he’s trying to really think of what to say. It was like words had always come easy to him, well except for now that is. It feels like an hour of nothing but silence before he speaks up again. “I’m not really..Avoiding you per say. I’m just keeping my distance.” Keeping his distance? Did you offend him somehow? The look you gave him must have been a guilt trip enough, he slowly started to make his way back for the steps. “I’ve had a few bad run ins with magic. You use it a lot..I’ve seen you floating and speaking incantations on your breaks. It’s just..For the best if we give one another some space. Please don’t take that the wrong way _____.” 

“Oh…” How else were you supposed to take a comment like that? It felt as if your heart was squeezing itself in your chest. The feeling left you breathless, like the wind was knocked out of your lungs. Now you were just embarrassed about the entire situation at hand. Your cheeks burned as you looked back up at him and forced a small smile. “It’s..okay. I understand. Sorry Landry...” You could feel your feet lift up and off of the floor for half a second as you beat him up the stairs. You thought it would be better for you to just..head home from here. You were sure most of the cleaning had been done already and Reese had already taken good care of the cats, there wasn’t much of a reason for you to stick around for the rest of the day. Plus, if you stuck around any longer then things might be even more awkward than they already are between you and Landry. Before anyone could stop you, you made your way out of the front door and toward home. 

\--

Now he’d really done it. He’d never really wanted the conversation between the two of you to turn out that way. What else was he supposed to say? There was no real dancing around that question. Sure enough there was more than one reason as to why he was keeping his distance, but he couldn't tell you the half of it. Of course the magic aspect of things was making him uncomfortable, but there was also something else entirely plaguing his mind. With a heavy sigh he fell back and onto the couch cushion behind him. To Landry’s surprise there was something small and furry beneath him. He quickly stood back up and looked down at a rather poofy bobtailed cat. 

“Hey watch where you’re landing, Landry!” Reese sticks his nose upward. “What’s on your mind, you’ve been out of it for a while now.” Landry sighed as he scooched over to the side to give Reese enough room. 

“Sorry, I didn’t see you right away. If you really want to know.. I think I messed up with ___.” Landry was looking just about everywhere but at his furry friend. All he could think about was how that situation could have gone better. Though there was nothing else he really could have said. Reese’s ears perk upward as he yawns. 

“You mean good old Crash?” He purred softly at your nickname. “Aw, c’mon Landry, it can’t be that bad. They’re tougher than you think.” Landry laughed softly as he thought on it. You had certainly gone through more than enough whenever Reese or Finely gave you a hard time. “Look it’s no secret you like them, right?” That was what made Landry really jump. The bobtailed cat snickered at his reaction. “I’ll take that as a yes. Whatever you said to them probably wasn’t all that bad right?” 

“Well..it sort of was actually.” Landry spoke in a sheepish manner as he finally made eye contact with Reese.If this situation wasn’t embarrassing before, it certainly was now. 

“It’s nothing a little gift won’t fix. I’m not usually the sentimental type- gotta look suave, yknow-, but maybe you could buy them some flowers or something. Let em’ know how you really feel and make it up to them.” Maybe Reese wasn’t the best person he could have asked for relationship advice, but it was really all that Landry had right now. Every now and again Reese did have his moments, but there was a chance that he was right for once. Landry nodded a little. He wasn’t sure how successful he could be, but he’d certainly try to make it up to you. 

\--

That night sleeping was close to impossible. All you could think about was work. How were you supposed to wait tables while maintaining your distance from Landry? The front floor just wasn’t big enough for you to always be that far apart. There was bound to be some sort of awkward bumping around between the two of you. You’d never be able to make eye contact with him. What if things got slow and then you really had nothing better to do but talk with him? You angrily flopped back over and onto the other side of your bed. There was no way out of this for you. No matter how hard you tried you couldn’t get yourself to stop thinking about work. You’d grumble as you tossed to one side and then back to another. This process continued throughout the night up until you could hear birds outside your window. At that rate you decided to just get up already and head to work before your alarm even went off. 

The day was already shaping up to be an odd one and it had only just started. No one else was at the cafe when you arrived, and no one showed up for quite some time either. You were sure that it even took Mason a long while to walk through the back door. Before you even knew it you were already open and Landry was nowhere to be found. It was a little unsurprising to say the least, but it still left a bad taste in your mouth. Throughout your shift you wondered silently where he could be. You were so preoccupied with your thoughts that you’d gotten quite a few of your customers’ orders wrong. There were a few breakfasts that had been switched and coffee orders went wrong. One customer in particular called you back over after you’d brought him his food. 

There was something unsettling about him. His blond hair was spiked up and stuck out in all sorts of ridiculous directions, his eyes were wide and icy. He really didn’t seem like the type to frequently visit a cat cafe. The moment you stood in front of him he rose from his chair and pushed it aside.“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” His voice was gravely and deep. Something about it sent shivers down your spine. “Do you know how to do your job?” He held up the coffee that you had just brought to his table for the second time and shook it about. You gave him a ‘customer smile’ and tried to apologize. Honestly you’ d never seen someone so angry over their food. 

There was a slight ringing sound as someone else entered the cafe. You tried to turn around to say one of your usual ‘good mornings’ but the ‘biker’ in front of you stopped you short. “look at me when I’m talking to you.” He held up his coffee and splashed its hot contents toward your face. All you could really do was hold up your arms and hope for the best. Thankfully it wasn’t as hot as you’d expected it to be, you were drenched but not burned. Before you could rub the coffee from your eyes a tall dark shape was already in front of you. It took your eyes a long while to adjust again before you could make out the back of Landry’s striped shirt. His hands were balled up tightly into fists.

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Or I’ll make you.” For once Landry’s voice was deep and seething. Your biker friend scoffed and crossed his arms. You’d never seen Landry angry before, but you knew this wouldn’t play out in the customer’s favor. Static bounced about along Landry’s skin. The moment both you and the biker caught sight of it, he slowly began to back away towards the door. “Hey don’t pop a blood vessel or anything..” Then there was a large spark that came close to the customers face. He wrinkled his nose as he spoke and stepped squarely outside the door. The moment he was gone you could feel the static slowly disappear. Landry huffed as he turned back around to face you, his grim expression softened as he looked back at you. 

“____, are you okay? That didn’t burn you, did it?” He sounded a little breathless as he spoke, like using that electricity really took a toll on him. You never even knew he could use magic, today really was odd. 

“I’m a little soaked but I’m alright. I thought you weren’t coming in today- I thought you were still angry over our conversation yesterday.” You looked up at him as you tried to read what you could of his expression. He helped brush some now sugary smelling hair from your face. This was going to be hell to wash out.

“You know I wasn’t going to at first. What I said yesterday, well that wasn’t your fault. I wanted to make it up to you somehow. It’s a long story that I should save for some other time but.. Your magic did scare me for a while. But I guess that’s not the only reason I avoided you at first.” He paused as he tried to think of the right words to say. His cheeks reddened lightly. “Well I’ve liked you for a while now. I just never knew how I could tell you. I didn’t think you’d feel the same way if I ever told you so I just..stayed out of your way.”

And then there it was again. Your feet lifted up from the ground as your heart beat quickened. Landry stepped back for a moment before laughing at just how high you were going. “You’re sure you’re okay? I’d never ask you to accept my feelings if you didn’t return them-,” As you rose up you pressed your lips quickly to his to shut him up. Watching his face was pretty priceless too. A wide and genuine smile pulled at his lips as you looked up at him and laughed. 

“You idiot, of course I do.” Your words hung in the air with you before you kissed him again. 

“Hey, you two, you have work to do!” Reese howled at the two of you from the stairs. The both of you laughed as you got back to doing your jobs. Today may have been odd but it was still a good day for the both of you.


End file.
